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Bethel Park squad selected for National High School Cheerleading Championship

By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 2 min read
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Bethel Park High School's South Gym serves as the site the pep rally in advance of the competitive cheer squad's trip to Florida.

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Harry Funk/The Almanac

Head coach Kristie Hayes, right, and junior varsity coach Natalie Westphal pay close attention to the routines.

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Harry Funk/The Almanac

Bethel Park High School Competitive Cheer Squad members get ready to begin a route.

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Harry Funk/The Almanac

“Let’s Go, Hawks!” from the top of a cheer squad pyramid

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You can't spell "Bethel" without the "T."

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Harry Funk/The Almanac

Several squad members provide support for the student at the top.

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Harry Funk/The Almanac

A squad member balances on the hands of teammates to help boost school spirit.

The standing-room-only crowd in Bethel Park High School’s South Gym got quite the show Wednesday night.

In celebration of its selection to compete at one of the nation’s most prestigious competitions, the school’s Competitive Cheer Squad welcomed friends, family members and other supporters with a demonstration of what they’ll be performing soon in Florida.

From Feb. 11-13, the squad will take part in the National High School Cheerleading Championship, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.

Wednesday’s pep rally featured two routines – including one for game day, with plenty of “Let’s go, Hawks!” – that the squad is taking to Orlando, Fla.

“It’s in two different divisions. We’re in Small in the one division, Medium in the other,” head coach Kristie Hayes said. “We start in preliminaries. If we get past preliminaries, then we go to semis and, hopefully, finals.”

Squad members put on displays of athleticism throughout their routines, highlighted by pyramids that took the girls at the top quite a distance above the safety mats below. They received constant encouragement from everyone in attendance, especially Hayes and junior varsity coach Natalie Westphal.

“They’ve just overcome every obstacle,” Hayes said. “They really have. I just can’t believe how far we’ve come. It’s really been amazing, and it shows here today.”

All teams invited to compete at the National High School Cheerleading Championship qualified at a regional competition in 2021. Teams were credentialed in cheer safety and leadership training, endorsed by the National Federation of High School Sports, and in the areas of crowd leading, spirit raising, ambassadorship, athleticism and entertainment.

The championship is produced by Universal Cheerleaders Association, a division of Varsity Spirit, specializing in cheerleading, dance team and band apparel, camps and competitions. The event was the first of its kind in 1980, created to reward cheerleaders for their work on the sidelines and to create a venue in which they could be recognized for their talents and abilities.

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